The Legend of Zelda: Gale's Redemption
by Roushutsu
Summary: Three hundred years ago, a hero rose to smite a great evil.  A thief named Link, along with a magician and a young knight, is destined to rectify Hyrule as he knows it, and soon he will learn that history may not always be the truth.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership of the Legend of Zelda. This story is purely fan-made and I do not gain any profit from it.**

**Author's Note: My first Legend of Zelda fanfic. This is going to be interesting. This story is a whole new adventure that will feature all kinds of familiar elements from the games, so it doesn't necessarily connect to any of the games. Just thought I'd throw that out there to avoid any confusion. So now, enjoy!**

The Legend of Zelda: Gale's Redemption

_Prologue_

Hyrule. A mystical, wonderful land bathed in light. All who dwelled there lived in harmony, from the deepest oceans to the tallest mountains. This peace had thrived for centuries, but it did not last. A sorcerer had risen from this land, blanketing everything around him in destruction and death. Storms raged, villages burned, the very earth split beneath his feet. Darkness had descended upon Hyrule.

Hope was damned to become a dream when the palace that stood in the center of this land had fallen into his hands. But before his reign could truly begin, a mysterious traveler appeared before him. Only he held the power to destroy the evil, and in moments the sorcerer was felled. The skies cleared, the earth healed, the shadows fade away.

Unfortunately, fate had played a cruel hand in his victory. Hyrule's beautiful and beloved princess was never seen or heard from again. The people had praised the traveler as a hero, and soon welcomed him as their new king. Peace and light emerged once more, and had remained for three hundred years. This is what history tells...

But light cannot exist without darkness. What was once vanquished was doomed to return. Knowing that it would be a matter of time, perhaps even beyond his reign, the heroic king spoke of a new law—sorcery was no longer welcomed in his kingdom. Practitioners of the magic arts, young and old, new and veteran, were captured, tried, even executed. A hefty price to pay, but the people could continue to sleep soundly knowing that the man who had once enslaved them would never rise back to power. History would not repeat itself, and has not for three hundred years.

This is what legend speaks...


	2. Chapter 1

The Legend of Zelda: Gale's Redemption

_Chapter One_

The sun had begun to set, blanketing the village of Eriwick in a dark golden hue. Nellie raised a hand to shield the glaring light from her eyes before the sun had finally sunk behind the surrounding trees. The townspeople around her were coming home from another long and grueling day of work. It never ceased to amaze her how far her neighbors would go just to make sure their family had food on the table when they came home. Some would tend to the tiny farmlands that lay at the outskirts of town, some would go into the woods to gather lumber, and still others would travel close to the Zora's Domain just to gather clay for their pottery wheels.

A small but sharp piercing sound echoed in her elongated ears. She knew that sound from a mile away—the sound of an arrow. There was only one person who made that sound, and with that her pace began to quicken. Her brown eyes sparkled as she sprinted into a run, her short red hair bouncing with each step. The piercing sound grew louder with each sprint, until she spotted a figure ahead of her.

Shadows from the trees had begun to cloak the young man with bow in hand. Stepping back into a stance, he reached into his quiver to pull out another arrow. Nellie watched as he pulled back the arrow, his azure eyes narrowing in concentration before his hand released the arrow. Nellie couldn't see its quick flight. Before she knew it, wood exploded from the center of the far away target; the arrow had shattered its predecessor.

She couldn't help but chuckle, "A perfect hit again." The young man jumped as her voice cut through his focus.

"I thought I told you not to sneak up on me like that. You could get hurt, you know!" he said as he turned to the girl, azure eyes meeting hers as she crossed her arms. The two just stood there, not uttering a word to each other. Their silence was inevitably broken once Nellie stuck her tongue out at him, causing the two to burst into a giggling fit.

Nellie brushed back some red hair behind her ear. "Come on, Link. I could use your help in preparing dinner. Garrick wants to hold a meeting tonight."

Link placed his bow in its holster on his back. "Already?"

"It may have to do with our last hunt. I heard from Myrr that Garrick is in a good mood, and you know what that means, right?" Of course he knew what that meant; prepare a feast. Their hunt must have been more successful than he had previously thought, and when that usually happened Garrick would always call for a celebration.

The two jumped when they heard a crashing sound coming from the western edge of the village. This caught the attention of several other people as they stopped what they were doing to watch puffs of smoke rising into the air. One of their neighbors, a round woman in a brown leather sundress, approached them. "Nellie, what are we going to do with your brother? That was the third explosion this week!"

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Hopper. I'll be sure to scold him about making such a ruckus."

The woman smiled as she patted the girl's head. "Just make sure he's OK. We don't want to lose any of you kids," she said, winking at the two.

Nellie huffed. "Mrs. Hopper, we're not all kids, you know. Look at Link! He's twenty years old!" Link couldn't help but grin at the girl's protest. True, he may be an adult, but this woman had been watching over them practically all their lives. In fact, he, Garrick, Myrr, Nellie, and her brother Lion were all the same—they were orphans. Mrs. Hopper was the closest they had to a mother, especially Link since he never knew his parents. Nellie had always been taken care of by her older brother, who was two years older than Link, so she never truly felt the attachment that the other boys did with this woman.

"I know, deary, I know. But you're still fifteen, so I still have time to coddle you."

"Mrs. Hopper…!" Nellie whined. Link couldn't hold in his laughter anymore, causing her to turn to him, stomping her foot. "You're not helping!"

"Just face it, Nellie. You're not going to win this one," he said.

The girl then turned to the older woman. "I need to get going. See ya!" And with that, she hurried off to her home.

Mrs. Hopper turned to Link. "She's such a good girl, don't you think?" She then reached out and ruffled his short dark hair. "Just keep watching over her for me, will you?" He nodded before turning on his heel and racing towards Nellie and Lion's house. It wasn't hard to find, since it was the only house in the village that was currently shrouded in smoke.

As Link reached the house, he could hear Nellie's voice. "Brother? What are you doing down there?"

"Just working out kinks like usual!"

The door was open, so Link invited himself in. The smoke was thicker inside, and fortunately Nellie stayed closer to the door. She usually waited for either the smoke to clear or for Link to guide her. He had a knack for finding his way around things.

"Just stay put! I've got Link with me!" she yelled back as she gripped onto Link's arm. At her side, the young man wandered into the house, keeping a hand over his eyes as he quickly looked for any signs of light from the setting sun. Fortunately he was able to catch several glimpses of it and he extended his hand out to his side until his fingers ran across glass. "Thanks Link," said Nellie as she reached out to the window and pulled it up before moving on to the next three. With how many times they did this routine, Link wondered how Nellie could not navigate on her own.

With all the windows open, the smoke began to seep out of the house. Link sat Nellie down on her couch and told her to stay put, then he too disappeared into the smoke. Now was the hard part: get to the cellar door and try to locate her brother. "Hey Lion, where are you at?" he called out as he reached the door.

"I'm by the tool shelf!" Link knew exactly where to go from there: down the stairs and hang a right past the wood carving table. He could faintly see a figure ahead of him and found a shoulder when he reached out to it.

"You OK?" Link asked as he pulled the man to his feet and began leading him to the stairs.

"Yeah. This was nothing compared to last time." There was no way either of them could ever forget about last time. Lion had nearly blown up the whole house. Once Link was able to lead them up the stairs, he kept one hand on Lion's arm while he reached out and grabbed Nellie with the other. The upstairs smoke had nearly cleared out, but he still led the two outside.

Nellie was rubbing her eyes, trying in vain to wipe away any kind of smoke residue that was making them sting, while Lion sat on the ground in a coughing fit. In his hand was a small metal oddly-shaped cylinder, a wide handle on one end, a metal arrow on the other. "That thing _again?_" she asked. "Brother, that thing is more trouble than its worth!"

Lion ran his free hand through his red hair, darker than Nellie's and long and spiky as opposed to her short and smooth. "I know I've almost got it. I just need to tweak up the trajectory and force, then it will be golden!"

"What happened down there?" Link asked, helping his friend to his feet.

"I was making some adjustments to the chain coil in this and it suddenly went off. It must have hit the gunpowder stash." He inspected the contraption, "But I'm sure I'll get it right next time. Hell, I might have this finished for our next hunt!"

Link eyed the contraption with great interest. For as long as he knew him, Lion was always making things. Tools, weapons, you name it, he could make it. For the last couple of years he had decided to branch out and try to make new tools of his own design. Granted, most of them were thrown away after so many failed tests, but this one was the farthest he's gone yet. Honestly, Link couldn't wait to get his hands on it, since he was usually the first one to try out all of Lion's creations.

"Well, it looks like it will take time for all the smoke to clear," Nellie stated, "so we might as well go to the hide-out. We need to prepare dinner anyway. I don't want Garrick's mood to turn foul just because we're late."

* * *

Nellie cooked up a storm that night. She had enough vegetables in the pantry to make some stew and Myrr surprised everyone when he brought two pheasants that he hunted earlier that day. They even managed to scrounge up soft bread and fresh ale for their little banquet. Once everyone had arrived and served themselves, they all sat at a large, round wooden table.

To Link's right was Nellie, and to hers, Lion. To his left was Myrr, who was the same age as him. He had dark blue hair that usually hung to his shoulders, but today he had it pulled back in a ponytail. He was the most talkative of the group, as he started rambling on and on about his day, then went to telling about how difficult it was to hunt the pheasants and how he needs to drag Link with him next time, and now he was currently criticizing Lion's invention, who paid little attention as he was inspecting it and even working on it. And finally, sitting in between Myrr and Lion was Garrick, the "leader" of their little pack. The oldest of them all, he was a tall, stern-looking man with dark eyes and no hair on his head.

After taking several bites, Garrick stood from his chair. "Specters! Attention!" Link was in the middle of gulping down the stew when the man called for their attention. Calling by their group's code-name, he knew it was time to get down to business. "As you all may have guessed, I have the results of our last treasure hunt." Everyone leaned forward to the tip of their chairs in anticipation. "We made over…five hundred Rupees!"

Link had nearly fallen out of his seat. "F-Fi-Five hundred?"

"It turns out that crypt once belonged to a noble who hailed from this area long ago. His heirlooms fetched a very high price," Garrick responded.

Nellie was shaking in excitement. "Five hundred… That means we only need two hundred more!"

"We'll get that much in no time," said Lion. "If we're lucky, we may be able to start saving up for next month."

"Well Link, it's your turn again," Myrr said, turning his attention towards him. "Find us another gold mine like that, OK?" Link had been so wrapped up in the news that he barely heard his friend. He couldn't believe that he got that lucky in finding the place. This was going to put their village at ease, at least for another month. Eriwick was a poor village and the people worked hard, but they only made enough to feed their families every day. Once Hyrule had begun imposing taxation laws and Eriwick was ordered to pay one thousand Rupees a month, they found it near impossible to pay them and sustain themselves at the same time. That was where they, the Specters, came in. Growing up as mischievous little kids, they managed to pool their talents and skills together to help their neighbors their own way. Sure, one could easily question their moral ethics of finding tombs and taking the riches that were inside, but as long as the tax collectors got their money at the end of the month, they never questioned where it came from.

Myrr was the trap specialist and often acted as Garrick's right-hand man. Lion was their inventor, his little sister the supply manager. And Link was left with the task of scouting. It was his responsibility to not only locate and inspect possible hunting sites, but often stayed out in front to act as their primary navigator.

Link nodded to his friends. "I'll find something better. Trust me."

Garrick's lips then curled into a smile. "I know you will." He then raised his cup of ale, prompting the others to do the same. "To Eriwick!"

"To Eriwick!" And with that, their feast continued. After two hours of everyone prattling on about the treasures they found in their last hunt, Link knew it was time to go home and get a good night's sleep for the long day ahead of him. He bid everyone good night, while the others carried on through the night.

* * *

Link woke at the crack of dawn to begin his mission. Eriwick was surrounded by a vast forest that stretched out for miles. The rocky terrain and thick foliage made traveling through it a complicated task for visitors, which led them to refer to the wooded area as the "Lost Woods."

For Link, though, navigating around the winding trees was an easy feat. He had visited the Lost Woods countless times throughout the years, scouting for treasure with each visit. Plenty of people throughout history had dared to venture through the woods and never return, leaving their precious belongings behind. But so excited from the news about their previous hunt, Link was doubly determined to find another tomb. Easier said than done, it was incredible luck he even found the tomb in the woods, but since the woods seemed endless he couldn't rule out the possibility that another one might exist out there somewhere.

It took the whole day for him to finally reach a suitable camping site—a small pond with little pink colored lights dancing on the surface of the water. Link recognized this place from a previous scouting mission. He had stopped to rest after a confrontation with an Octorok and upon arriving at the pond, one of the pink lights fluttered over to him. It took notice of a small wound on his left arm as he began to tend to it. Link watched as the light swirled around him, and right before his eyes, the wound had closed up without even leaving a scar. The light bounced back to the pond to join its friends in their dancing, and even after so much time had passed between then and now, the lights continued to dance. Link felt at ease here, knowing that those little lights would watch over him as he slept.

"EAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

Link immediately shot up at the high-pitched shriek, his heart racing from the freight. Even the pink colored lights stopped their dance as Link rose to his feet, his bow in hand.

"GO AWAY!" Before he could even react, Link was suddenly pummeled by a strong gust of wind that erupted from the trees in front of him. The lights were thrown back into the treetops. Once he felt the wind die down, he raced into the forest. A familiar sound echoed in his ears as he ran closer to the source of the mysterious scream.

Link skidded to a halt once he reached a small clearing. In front of him was a group of five slimy creatures standing in a circle and squeaking. They had long snouts and long tentacle-like legs jutting out from their otherwise round bodies. "Octoroks," Link muttered to himself. They were surrounding something, but he didn't have a chance to see what it was exactly when one of the monsters took notice of him and alerted the others of his presence. "Uh oh…"

The leader of the small pack of Octoroks, in a shade of blue as opposed to the others' shade of red, threw its head back. The Hylian dove behind a nearby rock as the monster its head down, a fairly large stone shooting out of its long snout. Upon hearing the smaller rock colliding with the bigger rock, Link leaped to the top of large stone, taking aim at one of the red colored Octoroks that was directly under him. The arrow pierced the beast in its left eye. Link jumped off the rock as the other monsters began to attack him in the same fashion as their leader. Link dove behind trees and rocks to avoid being hit by their rocks, then take aim and shoot at them when he found an opening. The red minions fell one by one until only the leader was left.

There was something off about the surviving Octorok. Each arrow fired struck the creature, but it continued to crawl around and attack. "Looks like I'll have to try a different approach." Link raced from behind the tree he was hiding behind for the cover of another that was closer to the monster. Circling around the tree, he took aim and fired. The arrow struck the Octorok in one of its tentacle legs, effectively pinning it to the ground. Reaching behind his back, Link pulled out a small dagger before charging the beast and tackling it. With all his might, he shoved the dagger directly into the Octorok's skull, causing it to scream loudly while bucking him off. Within seconds, the creature laid dead.

Link then turned to what the Octoroks were surrounding—a face down body. Once he approached the figure on the ground, he turned the body over to examine it. "A girl?" She had pale skin and long light hair that framed her face. She wore a dark navy dress that hung off her breasts and went to her knees, with dark red leather boots on her feet. But splashed all over her body were various bruises and cuts, no doubt from the Octoroks. Link began to lightly pat the girl's face as he shook her. "Hey! Are you alright? Come on, wake up!"

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a faint pink light approach him. It was one of the mystical lights from the pond. It cautiously approached the unconscious girl and slowly circled her, and then it bounced up to Link before it flew back towards the direction of the pond. "I get it," he muttered as he scooped the girl into his arms before turning on his heel to walk back to the pond to rejoin with the dancing lights.

_End of Chapter One_


End file.
